An increasing number of food products are processed before arriving on a consumer's plate. A variety of fruits and vegetables, for example, are cut or shaped and then frozen or otherwise preserved for later use. In order to meet the demand for processed food products and efficiently produce large quantities of such products, the food industry utilizes various equipment for rapidly processing large amounts of foodstuff. One type of equipment for cutting and shaping large quantities of foodstuff includes a stationary array of cutting knives where the food product is propelled through the knife array. For example, the food product may be propelled through the knife array by a hydraulic stream. Mechanical methods may be employed to propel a foodstuff through a knife array, for example a belt may be used to propel foodstuff, in another example a plunger may be used to force a knife array through a foodstuff. A system may be developed to propel foodstuff that utilizes gravity, for example a foodstuff may be dropped from a tower towards a knife array. A pneumatic system may be utilized to propel foodstuff towards a knife array, in one example compressed air may propel foodstuff to a knife array, for example by a belt. Food products pneumatically, or by a hydraulic plunger.
One specific hydraulic food cutter has a receiving tank filled with a hydraulic carrier fluid, typically water. Foodstuff is placed in the tank and suspended in the carrier fluid. The suspended food product is pumped from the tank into a segment of tube. The tube aligns the suspended food product with the cutter blade assembly, which includes a number of knife blades mounted parallel to one another. If the food product is to be cut into slices, only a single array need be utilized; however, if the food product is to be cut into elongated, slender pieces, such as French fries or wedges, two such arrays are utilized with the knives in one array extending generally perpendicular to the knives in the other array.
Foodstuffs that are processed to include planar surfaces lack both the appearance of a natural shape, as well as the functional ability to retain various garnishes and toppings. Many consumers desire products which have the appearance of being a naturally shaped product while including functional characteristics such as the ability to easily retain a quantity of seasonings, toppings, garnishes, and the like.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a food product cut from a foodstuff, the food product including more naturally shaped surfaces and the ability to hold and retain various toppings. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for cutting a foodstuff into a shape having such characteristics.